President Donald Trump entered the White House briefing room Thursday to introduce U.S. Border Patrol agents who emphasized the necessity of a wall along the U.S. southern border.

Trump introduced the agents, including National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd and two of his vice presidents. Each border patrol agent declared emphatically that a wall is necessary along the U.S.-Mexico border. The president revealed that he was meeting with the border patrol council representatives in the Oval Office and thought to bring them before the press as the 13th day of a partial government shutdown comes to a close.

Trump is currently engaged in a high-stakes fight with Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer over funding for his proposed wall along the U.S. southern border. The president’s introduction of the agents came just a day after he held a meeting with congressional leaders, which was supposed to be a briefing on border security.